Populist billionaire Andrej Babis wins the Czech election, marking a political shift away from Ukraine support and aligning closer with Hungary and Slovakia.
With 99 percent of the vote counted, the party of billionaire former premier Andrej Babis won Saturday's Czech parliamentary election, according to official results.
With promises of welfare and a halt to military aid to Ukraine, his ANO (Yes) party won 34.7 percent of the vote in the 10.9 million-person nation.
Outgoing Prime Minister Petr Fiala's pro-Western coalition did the same, receiving 23.2 percent of the vote, more than its coalition partner STAN, which received 11.2 percent.
Six parties in all were elected, including the far-right opposition Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) with 7.8 percent and the Pirate Party with 8.9 percent.
The self-described "Trumpist" Babis was beaming and praised the "historic result" as "the absolute peak" of his political career while celebrating his victory.
"We will definitely lead talks with the SPD and the Motorists and seek a single-party government led by ANO,"
Babis said.
He also said the government would review a Czech-led international drive to supply artillery shells to Ukraine, launched by Fiala's government, and "discuss it with (Ukrainian) President (Volodymyr) Zelensky" if necessary.
"We are clearly pro-European and pro-NATO,"
he added to dispel fears he might draw the Czech Republic closer to EU mavericks Hungary and Slovakia, which have refused military aid to Ukraine and oppose sanctions on Russia.
At over 69 percent, the turnout was substantial.
Babis has strongly objected to the SPD's push for a referendum on the Czech Republic's exit from the EU.
Its leader, congressman Tomio Okamura, who was born in Tokyo, stated that he would see Babis later on Saturday.
"What lies ahead for us is probably a government led by Andrej Babis, but the question is, who he will join forces with?"
Otto Eibl, an analyst at Masaryk University in the second Czech city of Brno, told AFP.
"I think the SPD... will be the key player. We'll see if it's happy with staying outside the government while wielding some influence on its policy,"
Eibl added.
Echoing US President Donald Trump, Babis has pledged a "Czechs first" stance and described himself as a "peacemonger" advocating for a truce in Ukraine.
Babis was skeptical of various EU policies during his tenure as prime minister from 2017 to 2021. He is friendly with Orban and Robert Fico of Slovakia, who have remained close to Moscow despite its invasion of Ukraine.
Josef Mlejnek, an expert from Charles University who has economic interests in western Europe, told AFP that he did not anticipate "a fundamental change" in Czech foreign policy under Babis.
"Babis is a pragmatic businessman and the only thing he cares about is being prime minister,"
he added.
What EU reactions are expected to Babis's victory?
Increased Concerns About Populism and Euroscepticism: The election of Babis is considered a victory for the populist, nationalist, and Eurosceptic forces in the EU, which can further fracture the bloc. Analysts argue that the Babis return will, at a minimum, make it even harder to reach agreements on issues such as defense, migration, and economic policy.
EU officials worry that Babis’ government will pursue policies that are more closely aligned with Hungary’s Viktor Orban and Slovakia’s pro-Russian government, which could create further challenges to EU consensus on Ukraine and Russia.
Babis’ ANO party will, in all likelihood, either have to engage with far-right parties such as the SPD, which are openly anti-EU and pro-Russian to put together coalitions to govern.